The Democratic Party’s newly published 2016 platform highlights arms control, nonproliferation, and nuclear stockpile reductions as key in U.S. national security strategy. The platform, finalized ahead of the Democratic National Convention this week in Philadelphia, criticizes Republican candidate Donald Trump for “abandoning NATO partners” and “embracing Russian President Vladimir Putin instead,” referring to Trump’s calls for NATO members to contribute more money for their own defense.
The platform says that while Democrats aim to preserve the U.S. nuclear deterrent, “we will work to reduce excessive spending on nuclear weapons-related programs that are projected to cost $1 trillion over the next 30 years.” The document echoes the Republicans’ own platform in expressing willingness to cooperate with Russia on issues of common interest, including reducing nuclear stockpiles and constraining Iran’s nuclear program, but also notes that “we will not hesitate to stand up to Russian aggression.”
The platform emphasizes a Democratic commitment to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and claims that Trump “encourages the spread of nuclear weapons across Asia and the Middle East, which would weaken the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.” It also says Democrats would continue to push for ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty ratification and would seek to continue reducing the role of nuclear weapons in the next administration’s Nuclear Posture Review.
